Getting Warm
by journeyman07
Summary: Ronon and Jennifer in the snow and ice. Here's the last chapter - enjoy and thanks for reading.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Getting Warm

Rating: PG-13, to be safe I guess

Genre etc: Pre-ship/Romance/Muchus Fluffus

Pairing: Ronon and Jennifer…oh, I _was _gonna try to write other characters, I truly was…really…but here I am again writing these two, because I love 'em! Forgive me, please.

Words: 2000 ish.

Summary: fluffy moments about body heat…snow and ice is such a good narrative device!! (That rhymes)

Relentlessly the storm raged outside the city for days. Days that threatened to turn into weeks of howling winds, ice and snow. Atlantis had born the extreme cold as best as it could, but eventually the ancient technology began to shut down large areas of the city to preserve its failing power. Ice formed a delicate but paralysing frozen film everywhere, creeping into the minutest corner and crevasse. A city immobilised by the ultra-severe elements of its new planetary home.

Colonel Samantha Carter had made the decision to move the entire habitants of Atlantis down to its lowest levels, near the hyper drive stations. Here a series of what could best be described as bunkers were interlinked alongside the currently redundant engines. They provided the only accommodation she and Rodney McKay had been able to think of that might be protected from the city's energy preserving protocols. (Protocols that McKay was furiously working hard on altering.) Most likely the cramped alcoves had been access shafts to the hyper drives, but for now the city's population were huddled into them round small makeshift fires and artificial light sources,

It was still cold inside - bitter ice cold. Close to freezing in fact.

Jennifer Keller blew on her hands in vain. She needed them to stop shaking before she administered the antibiotic injection to one of the marines. Living in such close proximity and under such physical stress had weakened many. Bronchial infections were rife in the cold, dry air.

After this, she told herself repeatedly, she could crawl back into her pile of furs and blankets and try to get some sleep. Just after this last treatment. She desperately wanted the warm, comforting bliss of deep sleep but somehow this had eluded her for days. Logically, Jennifer knew that this strong desire for sleep was probably the onset of hypothermia and the fact that she spent every hour shivering was actually a good thing. It was what kept her alive. Yet still her body wanted the escape of sleep all the same.

Her hands stopped shaking long enough to give the injection and her mind focused long enough to reassure its recipient that the effects would be fairly immediate and that he must keep as warm and hydrated as possible.

A tap on her shoulder. She turned clumsily and stumbled headlong into someone's fur clad and very solid chest. Strong arms caught her as she began to fall.

'Doc?' Ronon Dex's deep rumble penetrated the fog of the strange cotton wool feeling around her mind and body. Firm hands shook her ever so slightly. Her vision cleared and Jennifer looked up into the Satedan's concerned eyes.

''m OK,' she mumbled, trying to maintain some composure. This wasn't fair, she thought randomly. Ever since the incident during the quarantine lock down she'd secretly hoped she might get a moment with Ronon to work out whether she'd been dreaming the whole thing. But not like this, when she was beyond exhausted and looked truly terrible; this really wasn't fair. Get a grip, Jennifer, she then told herself sternly, recognising the inappropriate ramblings of her mind as further evidence of the extreme cold seeping into her bones.

Ronon didn't look convinced by her reassurances and kept hold of her elbow, steering her towards the nearest fire.

Making her sit down, the Satedan placed a steaming cup of what could only be hot chocolate in her hands.

'Drink that,' he told her simply, watching her with concern.

Jennifer stared at the liquid transfixed. She couldn't seem to compute what she was meant to do with the cup. Everything felt sluggish and blurred.

'Can't…' she began, unable to move. Tears of frustration and sheer exhaustion sprang to her eyes. Somewhere inside, Jennifer felt acute embarrassment that she should look so weak in front of Ronon….of all people.

'Can't…' she found herself saying again, her hands beginning now to shake uncontrollably.

In one swift movement, Ronon moved to sit at her side. Steadying Jennifer round the shoulders with one hand, he used the other to support her slow sips on the hot chocolate. He too recognised the early signs of hypothermia, having spent seven years battling the elements against it.

'No,' he murmured to Jennifer when she tried feebly to bat his hand away implying that she couldn't drink anymore, 'drink it all, doc, you need it,'

Ronon tucked back a long swathe of Jennifer's dark blonde hair that had worked loose from her parka hood. She managed a small smile in acknowledgment at this intimate gesture and focused hard again on drinking the warm chocolate. Already her inner core felt just slightly less chilled.

'Got too cold,' she formed the words with deliberate care aware she probably sounded drunk and looked to Ronon for confirmation.

'Yes, you did,' he smiled at her tear stained tired face, 'you've been treating everyone else except yourself, doc,'

'Hmmm,' Jennifer said again and looked down, uncomfortable with this observation. Yet it was true.

'OK, so now you need to get properly warm,' he told her softly. Quiet words, but Jennifer knew the Satedan had taken control of the situation and she acquiesced willingly. She had no energy left to argue and besides, Ronon was already reaching for her clothing.

'Get that off,' he opened the front of her parka and proceeded to pull it off her arms efficiently.

"Meant to be getting warm…' she mumbled, half-heartedly trying to muster some shred of dignity.

'You will be,' came the reply. Then Jennifer felt the ground leave her quite suddenly; Ronon had picked her up. She felt momentarily dizzy and clutched the big Satedan's shoulders in alarm. So strong, she thought fuzzily, it was like her weight was nothing to him.

Ronon deposited her in a pile of furs further back in the recess.

'Get in those,' another order to which the good doctor complied as if she were a biddable child.

The fur blankets were heavy and double-sided for warmth. They smelt of leather and some kind of spice she couldn't quite place. Ronon spread her parka over the outside layer for extra warmth and then proceeded to do the same with his own. Jennifer gasped slightly as he then climbed into the furs beside her, as if this were entirely normal behaviour. She became aware that these blankets were sewn together like a kind of giant sleeping bag. Room in this makeshift bed was limited, distinctly limited when two people shared it.

'Ok, now come over here,' Ronon instructed her, one arm spread out inviting her in close to him. Despite the shadows Jennifer could see he had a slight, but nonetheless amused smile on his face. She stared at him, now frozen more than with the cold.

'I…' she murmured awkwardly.

'Jennifer,' Ronon hardly ever used her first name; she didn't even know he knew it in the first place, 'come here,'

She made the decision after a further pause and wriggled her way over to him. Tentatively and shyly at first, Jennifer fitted herself into Ronon's side. Then as his body heat began to spread soothingly through her clothing, she snuggled in as close as she possibly could. This is not the time to be shy, she told herself firmly and closed her eyes. He was so solid, she thought, nothing but muscle and a lot of it. So solid. So warm.

A low chuckle reached her ears. Ronon grinned in the semi-darkness and drew the furs up around them both. Underneath them, he felt for Jennifer's hands; they were still rigid with cold. Carefully he placed her slim fingers underneath his shirt, right against his skin. He allowed himself a slight intake of breath at her touch.

Absently Jennifer moved her fingers over Ronon's stomach, relishing the warmth there. She traced a scar lightly, remembering it as one of the many wounds she had stitched up in recent weeks.

'That feels like it's healing ok,' she remarked quietly. Once a doctor…

Ronon chuckled again and used his free hand gently to still her explorations, holding her hands on one patch of his skin firmly. He couldn't recall the last time he'd held anyone, let alone a pretty woman this close and didn't quite yet trust himself with the way his senses flared alive at Jennifer's delicate touch.

With one ear Jennifer could hear the howling and screaming of the storm outside as it battered the city endlessly into the night. Her other ear focused on Ronon's steady heartbeat – it was hypnotising and lulling her into sleep.

The last thing she was aware of was Ronon's chin coming to rest on the crown of her head as his breathing slowed in time with hers.

They both slept, warmth and companionship wrapping round them like the fur blankets. Tight, secure, safe.

A long time later, Jennifer awoke with a start. Her slumber had been so deep, that she'd completely forgotten where she was. Breathing out, she tried to quell her racing heartbeat.

'You alright?' Ronon asked, his face close to hers. Jennifer looked up at him and saw his eyes held a languorous half-asleep gaze that prompted her to relax immediately.

'Yeah,' she managed, and smiled adding, 'feel a lot better, thanks.'

'You've slept for four hours,' he informed her and stretched out a little, yawning. Jennifer felt all that hard packed muscle on the Satedan's arms and chest flex and lengthen as he did this and wondered if it had been a deliberate move.

'Really?' she tried hard to concentrate on their conversation, sitting up.

'Mmm,' Ronon replied dozily and reached out for her, scooping Jennifer back into her place at his side in one easy movement. She squeaked a little in surprise at this, but he noted she didn't object. Instead he felt a stab of satisfaction as Jennifer burrowed up against him once more, snaking her arm across his midrift and entwining her legs with his for good measure.

Replacing the furs around Jennifer's shoulders, Ronon then pushed her unruly hair off her face so he could see her better. Keeping one long tress in his hand he studied it thinking hard, then brought it closer to his face and inhaled its fragrance briefly. Jennifer smiled at this, the quarantine lock down flitting through her mind once again. Her heart rate had increased again, but this time not due to disorientation.

'It still smells good,' Ronon told her softly. Clearly he also remembered what had so nearly happened between them.

'Thank you,' she whispered, feeling her face heat despite the cold.

'I've thought about it a lot,' he confessed, smiling down at her look of wonder, 'since the lock down,'

'Oh,' was all Jennifer could manage, then she privately berated herself for sounding so lame, 'me too,'

Reaching out Ronon stroked her face gently with one hand, causing Jennifer to experience heady little shivers of pleasure. They stared at each other waiting. Waiting for the other to take that first step.

Eventually he said: 'Look, Jennifer, I've forgotten how you do this, don't know what to say…or anything,' there was a pause, then, '…and Sheppard's been no help, he doesn't seem to have a clue what your planet's customs are either…'

'Sheppard?' Jennifer grinned at this, in fact she grinned from deep down in side. Ronon felt the same way she did - in her view, the gruff warrior had made his intentions known extremely well indeed.

'Yeah, he said something about dinner and flowers? What's that about?' Ronon looked confused, but was secretly relieved at her amusement.

She laughed and squeezed him fondly, delighted at how this was all turning out.

'Crazy Earth customs,' Jennifer acknowledged, 'a hot chocolate, holding you to get warm and four hours good sleep does it for me,' she added, surprised at the cheeky courage behind these words.

'McKay says we probably have two or three more days down here,' Ronon replied, his expression glinting with something that made her stomach quiver even more.

'Does he?' Jennifer happily settled her head on Ronon's chest once again, lacing her fingers with his, 'well, we can spend the time getting to know each other,' she added, grinning into the darkness, wondering if he'd recall the last time she suggested that.

Ronon chuckled – he knew exactly what she was referring to.

'You wanna talk this time?' a smile played around the Satedan's mouth.

'Better ways to stay warm, don't you think?' Jennifer's reply was soft and inviting. It was an invitation Ronon readily accepted as his mouth found hers.


	2. Chapter 2

It was like a time out of time. The storm continued unabated as the planet's all-consuming weather systems roared across the vast ocean unchecked. Atlantis' personnel found themselves slowing down and focusing just on sleeping, eating and keeping warm. Conversations dwindled as energy and interest levels inevitably fell. Eventually many tended to retreat to their claimed recesses. Privacy was sought in the limited space as well as warmth.

Normally, Ronon knew that being effectively caged for this past near-fortnight would have made him extremely restless and irritable. However, things weren't normal – they were happily far from normal. Whatever normal was, he mused, thinking that was an Earth term that didn't really apply out here in the Pegasus galaxy.

It was all due to Jennifer Keller. He watched her now through half-closed eyes, as she made her rounds of those who needed her medical care. He could still feel the warm imprint of her slight form beside him in the furs they had shared every night since she'd brushed too close to hypothermia.

He liked the way she moved with a soft quiet footfall, despite wearing the oversized bulky parka and other layers of clothing underneath. He liked the unruly nature of her beautiful long hair and how she didn't seem to mind how it looked. He liked the way she was calm and efficient with her patients and liked how they trusted her. He liked how she listened while others talked too much, how sometimes she said little in reply unless asked, but had the measure of people so quickly. Most of all, he liked how her widest and warmest smiles were reserved for him alone when he welcomed her into his arms each night.

And of course he loved the feel of her body and lips against his when he pressed her back into the furs and kissed her. Ronon could have made love to the city's chief medical officer several times over by now, but sensed not to rush things. Not easy, when the feel and scent of Jennifer drove him half-crazy most of the time. Not easy at all. Yet he wanted to wait for a better moment, certainly more privacy and ideally less clothing to be involved.

So they had talked. They'd talked about many things; there was so much to know. Quiet whispers late into the night, with heads held close together. Conversation about their respective histories, that were punctuated with passionate kisses and caresses. Talk that had begun in the infirmary during the quarantine lockdown and hadn't had a chance until now to continue; Ronon couldn't remember the last time he'd said so much or felt so much…to and for anyone. He'd been alone for a long time, but it was not what he would have chosen. Jennifer had reminded him of this – it was good.

'Ronon?' Jennifer's quiet voice jogged him out of these thoughts. She'd returned from seeing to her patients.

'Hmm?' he poked his head out of the furs in acknowledgement.

'Colonel Carter has asked for us to be at a briefing – McKay has made some progress apparently,' she explained as she set about pulling her boots off.

'Ok, when? Not yet obviously,' Ronon replied, indicating her struggle to remove her foot wear, 'here,' he grabbed one of Jennifer's boots round the heel enabling her to at last slide it off. The ubiquitous parka came next.

'Thanks,' she murmured and slipped into the furs beside him gratefully. Ronon grinned as she snuggled against him, settling into his side and burying her face in his chest.

'So cold…' he heard her say. Absently Ronon stroked Jennifer's hair waiting for her to relax as she warmed up.

When she raised her head, he took that as his cue to kiss her - on the lips…fully…passionately.

'This is gonna be difficult when we get back to the city,' she murmured to him afterwards, her face slightly flushed and lips still parted. Close up Ronon could see how the customary lip covering she wore had smudged under his attentions. He liked that too – liked the subtle evidence he'd been where no one else had.

'What is?' he asked knowing full well what she meant, leaning back to look at her properly. Even in the darkness, he could tell her face was suffused with its characteristic delicate redness.

'Well, you know…' Jennifer began awkwardly, 'there won't be an excuse to share these furs at night for one thing…'

'Why not?' Ronon lightly teased her lips with his then began moving down her neck to the soft hollow of her throat. He smiled against Jennifer's smooth skin as she moaned slightly, enjoying the effect he had over her.

'Because…,' she began, as she slipped her hands round his broad shoulders - a movement that was almost an automatic reflex now, even though Ronon knew she was trying to focus on saying something to him. Grinning again, he allowed one hand to wander under Jennifer's shirt. His fingers alternately played with the firm skin at the waistband of her pants then gently caressed the softer skin of Jennifer's midrift. Small sighs sounded from her in response to these quiet, but intimate gestures. This just made him want her even more.

'Ronon…just…' Jennifer tried to protest and finish her point, but he could hear the arousal in her voice and leaned in for another deep kiss, hungrily covering her mouth with his. Ronon shifted his weight so he engulfed her frame, one knee between her legs and his arms wrapped tightly around her – passionate and possessive. Somewhere in the back of his desire-fogged mind he knew that they'd have to stop this….before things got truly out of control. Not easy – the reminder floated back at Ronon once again, this time at a distance. Yet it was just enough to nudge him back to reality.

He drew away from Jennifer a little, breathing still quickened, all senses alive; the attraction between them humming with vitality.

'What were you going to say?' Ronon then prompted her cheekily, kissing her nonchalantly behind the ear. Exaggerating an exhaled breath, he eased his weight off her and dropped beside Jennifer, drawing the furs back over his shoulders. They'd gone astray during their heady moment of ardour.

Jennifer poked him gently in the ribs and rolled her eyes, 'I can't think straight now…' she whispered ruefully, fingers playing lightly with one of his dreadlocks.

'You were going to say,' Ronon offered, 'that it won't look very good for Atlantis' chief medical officer to be seen sneaking out of my quarters every morning… or something like that,'

Jennifer looked at him sheepishly and managed, 'Mm, that's about it,'

'It can wait, Jennifer,' he reassured her with sincerity and a kindness that caused unexpected tears to well behind her eyes.

She squeezed him gently and murmured, 'Thank you,' in deep appreciation and warmth for Ronon's understanding, 'it's not that I don't want to…' she then tried to explain but ended up blushing hopelessly instead.

Ronon laughed, 'Oh, I got that,' he confirmed amused. Jennifer buried her face in his chest groaning from sheer embarrassment.

'Sorry to interrupt you both…' John Sheppard's voice did indeed break into their reverie, as he knew it would. Instantly Jennifer jumped at this intrusion, only to groan again. Could this look any worse?

Ronon couldn't help growling at the Colonel's tousled head peering into the recess he and Jennifer shared. Sheppard grinned; he just couldn't help that either.

'What is it?' the Satedan muttered in a low voice, keeping still as Jennifer shifted against him vanishing further into the furs, wishing herself thoroughly invisible.

'Carter's moved the briefing forward,' Sheppard announced breezily, 'seems Rodney's had a breakthrough with the shut down protocols,'

'Really,' Ronon replied dryly, thinking murderous thoughts about McKay's timing.

'Yep,' his team leader agreed, 'five minutes, that's you as well Dr Keller,' Sheppard added as his parting shot and chuckled at the replying squeak that issued from the furs.

**A/N** This chapter is warmly dedicated to **renisanz** for recent awesome beta thoughts given about this fic, to **Laby Anne Boleyn** for some very kind things said about my fics in general, to **TardisCalling** for reading chapter one four times (how about that for reader support?!)…and then of course to **all** of you who keep on reading my crazy fluff - you guys rock – hope this lives up to your expectations and please leave me reviews…especially if you liked it of course!!


	3. Chapter 3

'C' mon,' Ronon encouraged her gently. Sheppard had retreated from their sleeping area, his deliberate jaunty whistle fading into the distance.

Jennifer groaned and surfaced, pushing hair from her face. Ronon reached out to assist, hooking one long swathe behind her ear gently. He smiled at her look of discomfort. She couldn't help but smile back, feeling the tension ease a little. How she could ever have originally thought him so fierce and intimidating was beyond her now. Behind the inscrutable warrior-like aspect of Ronon Dex was a very kind and caring man with warm eyes and a ready smile. Jennifer liked this, more than she had thought possible in fact.

They both scrambled out of the pile of furs and began pulling on boots and more clothing.

'Ugh,' she grunted as the last boot eventually slipped over her foot, it having needed some definite encouragement, 'when did dressing myself get to be such a huge effort!'

Ronon chuckled and privately wondered if the same effort would be required in undressing her when they got back to the city. He decided not to say as much, although he didn't need to as the look on Jennifer's face told him that she'd heard his thoughts clearly.

'Didn't say a word,' he held up his hands in mock defense.

'Hmm,' she poked him in the ribs affectionately, a grin tugging at her lips all the same, 'you didn't have to,'

The other senior Atlantis personnel had already convened in a huddle around a roaring fire by the time they arrived. Jennifer studiously decided to ignore the knowing looks shot at her and Ronon, settling companionably into a space by Teyla.

'What?' Ronon growled at Rodney and Radek, who immediately feigned innocence.

'Nothing!' Zelenka replied, just about hiding his smirk. Nonetheless he warmly winked at Jennifer, who also hid a smile. She recalled another time when such an exchange had occurred between Ronon and John Sheppard. She also remembered how fond she was of the good humoured and patient Czech scientist who bore Rodney McKay's jibing so well. Jibing borne out of jealousy for Radek's understated and considerable ability, in Jennifer's view.

'Ok, now, we think Rodney may have come up with a solution to this situation we find ourselves in,' Samantha Carter began. She rubbed her gloved hands together, trying to encourage some feeling in them.

'Does it involve reactivating the city?' Sheppard said hopefully.

'Well, more or less…' Mckay began, shuffling closer to the fire, 'it's kind of simpler than that, in fact it's so simple, I don't know why I didn't think of it before, really simple…'

'Rodney!' Sheppard warned his team member against this characteristic procrastination. This wasn't the time or the place.

'It's like this,' Mckay took the hint frowning, 'if we can get the city's shield's up, then everything else will follow suit, all systems will automatically reactivate and the shut down protocols will be bypassed. It's kind of like starting from the outside and going in, rather from than inside to out, if you will.'

'So what's the problem with activating the shield?' Ronon asked flatly. Carter and Sheppard shared a swift amused glance as Rodney sighed heavily.

'Looking on the bright side as ever, I see,' he muttered to the Satedan. It irritated him how rapidly Ronon always arrived at the crux of the matter. Must be something to do with all those years focusing just on survival and nothing else, Mckay surmised privately.

Ronon's face remained impassive, but Jennifer thought she could see a whisper of a grin playing across his shrewd green eyes.

'To activate the shield I need a particular tablet from my lab,' McKay explained, 'this one…' he indicated the laptop computer he held possessively against his chest underneath his clothing, 'doesn't have what I need on it,'

'Can't you go to the control room and just activate it from there?' Jennifer found herself saying, as Teyla nodded in agreement.

'Ah, no,' Carter stepped in to explain, 'as far as we can tell that part of the city has been hit worst by the snow storm, getting in there is in all likelihood an impossibility at present,'

'It's easier to get to Rodney's lab,' Sheppard realised, 'and any other control panels in the city are probably frozen to hell anyway so if…'

'We can get that tablet back here, if I can warm it up, then if I get it on line…' McKay continued for him.

'…we can get the shield up,' Sheppard finished for him thinking hard, deliberately avoiding adding anymore 'ifs' , 'so when do we go?'

This was directed at Carter, who smiled wryly. She had known the Colonel would volunteer for this before the briefing had even started. Sheppard's maverick and edgy nature was not welcomed by some in the military, but Carter thought this only masked his innate courage and loyalty to those under his command. Nothing went by the book out here in Atlantis anyway, she thought to herself for the millionth time.

'As soon as you and Ronon are kitted up,' she replied. Sheppard nodded and glanced at the Satedan. An almost imperceptible look of agreement passed between the two men – nothing needed to be said.

Jennifer started at this and felt her heart sink with fear. Her look of horror must have been obvious because she felt Zelena pat her arm just briefly in comfort. She knew personally and professionally what the extreme conditions and minus temperatures could do to the human body and how quickly such deterioration could set in.

'Is there anything we can do to help our chances against the cold before we go, doc?' Sheppard turned to her next. The colonel's eye were serious now and respectful of any information she had to give.

'Uh…um…,' she stuttered for a moment before her medical thinking mercifully took over, 'make sure you're already as warm as possible, you have to keep your core warm, that's the crucial thing…um…eat as much as you can before you go…keeping warm burns massive amounts of calories, also wear as many layers as possible, heat traps itself between them and when you're out there…' she paused for effect, 'you must, must keep moving, don't stop,'

'OK,' Sheppard saw the sense in this practical advice, 'so I think I'll start with your food rations, Rodney,' he quipped to lighten the mood.

McKay snorted, rising to the bait until he realised the joke. Then he rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated sigh.

'I do need to find some more cold weather gear though,' Sheppard mused in afterthought.

'Let me help you with that, Colonel.' Teyla offered. The warm look exchanged between them was not lost on Jennifer, who'd long been curious as to the nature of their subtle personal connection.

'Ronon, I suggest you do the same,' Carter urged the Satedan quietly. He nodded, looked at Jennifer and they stood at the same time; she knew he'd just asked her to assist with such preparations for the mission. To still the hard knot of fear and worry forming in her stomach, Jennifer tried to focus on what Ronon could use as extra warmth layers. She vaguely recalled a camping trip from her childhood where a friend has torn a blanket into long pieces and comically wound it round his arms and legs in attempt to keep the cold out. It had worked though. Yet that had just been in Yellowstone, this was on another planet and in another galaxy. Sometimes Jennifer couldn't help but find the enormity of her current situation overwhelming. Even more so, now that Ronon was about to be in imminent physical danger. But then wasn't it always like this, she reminded herself firmly, wasn't it just worse because she found herself falling in love with the resident Satedan?


	4. Chapter 4

Jennifer wound the closely-knit material strips around Ronon's arm carefully. He watched her gentle but precise actions in silence. She was avoiding his eyes and he knew it.

'All this should help to keep the cold out,' she remarked, next assisting him in sliding the heavy fur-lined parka over the extra makeshift layers.

The tremor in her voice wasn't lost on Ronon. He caught her chin and lifted her face up. Just a glisten of tears was evident in Jennifer's eyes. She couldn't quite compose herself enough to mask the keenly felt anxiety for his safety. Ronon smiled down at her, observing how her arms had moved to protectively hug her sides. She was scared for him. How long had it been since he'd been in this situation? He'd lost count of the years along the way.

'We'll be OK, I promise,' he told her simply, thumbing a stray tear off her cheek.

'You can promise that?' Jennifer whispered, her bottom lip trembling.

Could he promise that? For a moment, Ronon was caught off-guard by the directness of the question. He considered what he meant carefully – she was not someone on whom the usual platitudes would work, not that he was any good at those anyway.

'Yeah, I can,' Ronon replied, his eyes serious as he gazed down at Jennifer. Yes, he could promise that. Seven hard years of surviving the Wraith in the face of overwhelming odds stacked against him – yes, he could promise his return from the frozen upper levels of the city. Right then he'd have promised and stood by anything she wanted if it meant she'd be his. And this was what he wanted, Ronon realised. He wanted to hold her every night and wake up to her mussed hair and sleepy face every morning. Quite how he was going to engineer that as a long-term arrangement, he wasn't absolutely sure, but one thing Ronon Dex was if anything was persistent…dogged even and persistent to say the least.

'OK, then,' Jennifer replied accepting the promise, smoothing her hands down her sides nervously, 'but please be careful, Ronon, keep your core warm, remember,'

'I will,' he reassured her quietly as he leaned his forehead against hers, then added so no one else could hear, 'because you keep my core warm.'

Jennifer flushed at the intimacy of his heartfelt words accompanied by the age-old Athosian gesture. Especially as Ronon held the stance for a long moment, his hands round her shoulders. Somehow she breathed him in deeply so she wouldn't forget how he was so solid, warm and comforting…yet intensely masculine and intensely sexy at the same time. Breaking away slightly she laid her face against his chest - her arms round his waist. The Satedan's heartbeat was muffled through his layers of clothing, yet as always it sounded steady and strong to her. How this looked to everyone else, she no longer cared - it was hardly what mattered now.

'Ronon?' Sheppard's voice sounded in their ears. The colonel had similarly finished piling on as many layers as possible and was obviously ready to go. The mischievous twinkle Sheppard had shown earlier about their fledgling romance had respectfully gone; he knew how hard this was.

'Yep,' the Satedan affirmed, his eyes still on Jennifer. Then the last preparation involved arming his pistol and loading it swiftly into its customary holster.

Jennifer, Teyla, Rodney and Samantha followed them to the entrance that Lorne and his team had worked so hard to defrost and de-ice enabling it to open.

'Three hours, colonel,' Carter reminded her military leader in clipped tones to hide her own concern, 'and check in at 30 minute intervals,'

Sheppard nodded and then turned to McKay, 'this tablet you need is in your lab, Rodney, you're sure about this?'

McKay instantly replied with, 'third shelf to the right of the door, you can't miss it, good luck,'

'OK then,' his team leader breathed out, 'let's go,' he confirmed, glancing briefly at Ronon.

And in an instant of howling wind, ice and snow that aggressively burst through the momentarily opened door…they were gone.

Jennifer stared at the closed entrance, stunned by the sudden brief intrusion of the violent elements outside. Silence fell and enveloped her just as quickly. A sympathetic touch fell on her arm: Teyla.

'Come back to the fire, Jennifer,' her friend urged her softly. Looking into Teyla's face, Jennifer saw only understanding – no recrimination. She followed, feeling numb with more than the cold.

She huddled opposite Teyla, drawing the parka and additional blankets left by the fire close round her shivering frame. Gradually the warmth of the dancing flames licked her cold and worried body and Jennifer relaxed a little.

'It's not easy is it?' Teyla's quiet voice reached her ears. Jennifer had almost forgotten the Athosian's presence, so lost had she been in her own thoughts.

'What isn't?' she glanced up from her daze.

'Waiting to know that the one you love is safe,' the sadness in Teyla's voice and wistful expression nudged Jennifer sharply. Her heart leapt at the implication and poignancy in what Teyla was saying.

'Have you found any new leads? Or heard anything new?' she said immediately, knowing her friend was talking of Kanaan – the father of her unborn child.

Teyla shook her head ruefully and smiled her slow graceful smile, sighing, 'No, nothing,' a pause then, 'but thank you for asking, it's hard…' she was thinking how best to explain, 'it's hard to think of anything else, when we can't…we can't do anything else… because of this storm,'

'Mmm,' Jennifer murmured, not knowing quite what to say. Teyla had no idea where her lover was, if he was still alive or dead – all she had to do was wait for Ronon to return from the city in one piece, hopefully in a few hours.

'I am happy for you and Ronon though,' Teyla straightened herself a little, returning to the present, keen to move away if only for a moment from the permanent anxiety that nagged at her very soul.

'Does everyone know?' Jennifer shifted restlessly, feeling awkward.

Teyla smiled broadly, 'none of us have seen the two of you in days, this is a small space…' she indicated the area they had been forced to live in, 'it wasn't hard to notice what has occurred between you,'

'Oh,' Jennifer studied the fire intently, lost for words again.

'Are you worried what people might think?' Teyla prompted her gently, puzzled at the young doctor's reaction.

Jennifer smiled, 'A little perhaps, although…' she thought for a moment, 'that seems less important now, if everyone knows, no, it's more…that…'

'What, Jennifer?'

Jennifer hugged her knees and thought hard, 'I can't…remember…feeling like this, or this much for anyone…' she corrected herself, 'for any man…before, I haven't really…I mean I've never really got involved with anyone, always too busy working, studying, doing all that, I tried…' she trailed off, feeling herself blush as Teyla's change of expression showed her friend's understanding of what she was attempting to say.

'I tried to tell Ronon once that…' Jennifer began again, 'that I'd missed out on a lot of social stuff, you know,'

'Why would this be important?' Teyla asked, regarding her friend fondly. Behind the professional mask and considerable expertise, she's an innocent, Teyla realised suddenly.

'Because it's a bit overwhelming, feeling this much…for someone,' Jennifer sighed, reasoning hard with herself.

'I see,' Teyla began to understand, 'you would rather it had not happened?'

'Oh no, no,' Jennifer answered definitely, 'it just takes a little getting used to, that's all. And Ronon's so…' she then mused hopelessly, 'and I'm so…oh, you know.'

'Ronon and you are two of the best friends I have,' Teyla offered instead, 'I would only ever want happiness for you.'

'Thank you, Teyla,' Jennifer smiled gratefully at the other woman, 'I hope it will be happiness,'

'Oh, I think so,' Teyla murmured, 'you are well matched, even John thinks so,'

'Really?' Jennifer couldn't hide her surprise at this piece of illuminating information.

'Really,' came the serene reply.

'They'd better come back safe,' her tone of voice was fierce and resolute this time. Yet fired by a sense of hope Jennifer hadn't felt confident enough to allow to surface before this conversation.

**A/N: **I'm pretty sure that this line** " **And Ronon's so…' she then mused hopelessly, 'and I'm so…oh, you know.'" is one I've read in someone else's R/J fics, but I can't remember whose – sorry! If you're reading and it's yours, this is just to acknowledge and credit that – it's a cool line and seemed to fit where I've used it. Hope that's OK.

And many many thanks to **renisanz** for the beta-ing of this chapter - appreciated so much x


	5. Chapter 5

Every breath of bitter air was like a sharp knife slicing into their lungs - progress was frustratingly slow and inevitably laboured.

Atlantis was eerily quiet as the storm paused for breath. Just the occasional ominous creak sounded from the ice and snow pressed up against the city's outside walls. It reminded Sheppard of the torturous sound of metal being twisted and wrenched out of place. Like helicopters being shot down out from the sky; a sound he'd heard all too often on various tours of duty before Atlantis. It made him nervous. Jumpy, even.

In places, the elements had battered their way into the city creating barriers of snow and jagged ice that were sculpted into weird and surreal shapes. Sheppard and Ronon had already had a taste of what it was like to be sculpted by the storm when leaving the hyper-drive recesses. For an endless, yet mere thirty seconds or so, the wind and ice had ripped and scythed at them before they had reached the safety of the hallway beyond the relatively small breach to the city's infrastructure.

'Have you ever seen anything like this before?' Sheppard whispered hoarsely at the Satedan, who shook his head gravely before pointing down an alternative hallway that led them round the intruding ice. The colonel nodded and followed.

'John?' Rodney's voice sounded in their comms links clearly, 'just to remind you that the next storm wave will hit in a few minutes…' the scientist sounded serious and tense. Sheppard could see Rodney in his mind's eye hunched over his laptop by the fire, his forehead creased with worry.

'Copy that,' Sheppard acknowledged, his head movement indicating to Ronon that they should keep moving. McKay's lab was still a whole two levels up because of the detours the frozen sculptures had caused them.

'How are your bio readings, Colonel?' Keller's voice this time. Sheppard felt suddenly and irrationally irritated at this request, before remembering that this was one of the required 30 minute check-in intervals. He frowned, knowing enough about hypothermia to recognise the condition as the probable source of his uncharacteristic reaction. Relaying the readings to Atlantis's CMO, the colonel could see that already his core temperature had indeed dropped a fraction.

'Ronon, are you OK?' her voice was somehow softer; it was a subtle change, but Sheppard heard it nonetheless. That he could perceive this actually served to reassure him that he wasn't suffering too badly…yet.

'Readings are normal,' Ronon reassured her, looking at the bio-readout on his wrist console carefully.

'OK, that's good,' Jennifer's relief was palpable; Ronon smiled to himself at this. This direct and quiet honesty intrinsic to Jennifer Keller's personality was one of the things about her that attracted him the most. To Ronon, it seemed that Earth people spent a lot of time saying everything else but what they truly felt – yet somehow Jennifer hadn't acquired this habit.

'Colonel, Ronon?' Carter's crisper, professional tones, 'proceed…but with caution, please,'

'Copy that,' Sheppard said again.

The door to Rodney McKay's lab needed a certain amount of persuasion before it opened. The film of ice was thin compared to that of elsewhere in the city, but strong and stubborn all the same.

Ronon took a deep, painful breath and tried to quell his screaming lungs. The last of the encrusted ice fell away in pointed razor like shards from his pick. He bent double, coughing on the frosty air. Sheppard immediately activated the door sensor from his wrist console as McKay had suggested and was relieved when the door slid and scraped open.

'OK, where is it?' the colonel muttered to himself, immediately searching the shelves as instructed.

The tablet was exactly where Rodney had described; Sheppard acknowledged the benefits of his team member's obsessive photographic memory with a wry smile. He pulled the slim notebook towards him, ready to encase it in the heat pack especially brought along for the occasion. Wrestling to extract this from his backpack in the hard, cold air took time, more time that he would have liked. Once again, Sheppard was unnerved by just how much sheer effort was required to operate in this rarified and frozen atmosphere.

'Sheppard,' he turned at the Satedan's voice. Ronon held his hand up and was listening intently to something in the distance. The colonel shook his head and frowned; he couldn't hear anything, but then Ronon's hearing was far superior to his own.

The sound of metal twisting, bending and buckling again finally reached his ears. Except this time its volume continued to grow in violence and intensity like a deep guttural growl reverberating along the hall (or was it under the floor?) and towards the lab.

'The door!' Sheppard shouted, springing into action as he realised what was happening. He waved his hands over the door sensor frantically. No movement. None. The roaring grew louder.

Ronon joined him, his movement across the floor so swift that Sheppard hardly saw it. Cold forgotten, together they pushed and shoved at the lab door urging it back into place.

Gasping heavily, they sank the floor and listened to ice and snow splinter through the outer surface of the city and thunder against the lab door. The thundering weight piled into metal for what seem like an age. Then all was eerily quiet in a heartbeat. Any sounds became muffled, deadened and emphatically silenced.

'Oh, crap,' Sheppard muttered, the implications of this sinking in as he looked at the lab door. The door that was now truly and firmly barricaded… but from the other side.

'Sheppard!' they both became aware of Rodney McKay's panicked voice over the comms link, 'Sheppard, Ronon, come in, what happened?'

'The storm happened,' Sheppard replied darkly after a pause, 'there's now a ton of snow piled up outside the lab, no way we can get the door open,' he said this as much to Ronon who was straining at the mute square of metal. The Satedan kicked it, growled and moved away in disgust.

'Are you both OK?' Carter's concerned tones, urgent and brisk.

'Yeah, we're OK,' Sheppard muttered, as Ronon confirmed this with a nod.

The enormity of this rapid turn of events caused an impromptu silence from both ends of the comms link.

'OK, John,' Sheppard could hear the scientist's mind swiftly entering into overdrive, 'the tablet, you have it?'

'Yeah,'

'You'll have to get the shield online using it from there…' McKay began.

'Rodney, I have no id…' the colonel began in frustration.

'I'll talk you through it, it's not difficult, well, yes it is actually, but it's the only solution,'

Sheppard winced at this, 'I do not find that reassuring,' he snapped, blowing on his fingers even though they were still encased in thick gloves. He dared a glance at his bio-readout; it didn't look good.

'Sorry, look,' McKay began, 'have you warmed the tablet at all?' he was relieved when Sheppard confirmed this and starting dragging it from the heat pack , 'ok, fire it up and let's get started.'

The colonel made a disparaging face at Ronon, who raised an eyebrow in return.

'Right, now, we won't have much time before it freezes,' McKay stated bluntly. Then while reining in mounting panic and frustration at being unable to do this himself, he began issuing instructions to Sheppard.

'Slowly…' the colonel murmured into his comms link, trying to ignore how his vision had started to blur, 'let's do that bit again,'

'But…I…' McKay couldn't mask his irritation this time.

'Again, Rodney!' the ferocity in his team leader's voice firmly halted any further objection. McKay swallowed, took a deep breath and started his explanation of the sequence again.

'No, that one…' Ronon was watching over Sheppard's shoulder intently. The Satedan was pointing to an icon that the colonel had missed. Sheppard nodded; Ronon was correct. Over the comms link, they both heard Rodney's audible grunt of surprise.

'I think Ronon's following this,' Rodney whispered in amazement to Carter, his hand masking the comms link so the Satedan didn't hear. Jennifer rolled her eyes visibly.

'Makes good sense,' Carter said tersely. She refused to be drawn into any of McKay's habitual sarcasm about the level of Ronon's intelligence. She'd worked out long ago that any one who had trained and led soldiers, then evaded the Wraith for seven long years on his own was far from stupid.

'OK, I think that's it,' Sheppard's voice sounded thin and weaker. Jennifer straightened in alarm.

He keyed the final sequence and waited. And waited. Time slowed, halted, suspended. Breaths were held.

Then a deep rumble sounded from way beneath them. If the storm had not paused for a moment it would hardly be discernible.

'That's it! That's it!' Rodney McKay beamed excitedly, 'John, you did it! Can you see the shield readings going up on your screen?'

Carter sank back in relief, breathing out. Her shoulders felt sore with the rigid tension that had immobilised them all in those agonising moments.

'Colonel? Colonel?' Jennifer was the first to realise there was no reply, 'Ronon?' the fear was evident in her voice.

'He's collapsed,' the Satedan's voice informed them curtly.

'Get him inside that sleeping bag you're carrying,' Jennifer immediately focused on the medical emergency, her mind zooming in on the instructions Ronon needed, 'then get in there with him, Ronon, keep his core warm like I said, make sure he doesn't move, this should stop the colder blood reaching his heart and if you can, keep him conscious.'

'I need to get to Sheppard as soon as possible,' she then swung round and informed Carter, her eyes intense and afraid, 'as soon as possible, Colonel,' came her urgent reiteration.

Samantha Carter nodded, her expression grimly serious.

**A/N** So these two chapters are dedicated to **sarcasmqueen **who's doin'exams, and of course to my awesome beta **renisanz **for the words of wisdom.


	6. Chapter 6

John Sheppard struggled into consciousness dimly aware of the smell of leather and sweat. He foggily recognised this, but couldn't quite place it. Everything felt out of place, disjointed or at a distance somehow. It was also very dark.

'John, John,' someone insisted in saying his name over and over again right in his ear.

An odd sting zipped across his face.

'Ow!' he managed, his eyes suddenly focusing on Ronon's face looming over him.

The Satedan lowered his hand, relieved that Sheppard had regained consciousness. He pulled the sleeping bag tighter around them both.

'Did you hit me?' Sheppard's plaintive tone told Ronon that his team leader was still alive and still determinedly hanging on.

'Yeah, you gotta stay conscious,' he rumbled.

'Well, you smell so bad, that won't be a problem,' the colonel quipped back.

Ronon chuckled despite their situation and relaxed, just a little. There was a long pause while both focused on breathing and processing the harsh brittle air, momentarily lost in their own private reverie.

'So what are you thinking about right now?' Sheppard's voice was hoarse and strained. He jabbed the Satedan in the ribs, demanding a response, 'c'mon, Ronon,' the colonel urged fuzzily, 'you told me I need to stay awake here,'

Ronon regarded him for a long moment. It was true, he had sunk silently into his own thoughts; the cold did strange things to a man. Could he really tell Sheppard that he was remembering the soft silky feel of Jennifer's face under his when he kissed her? The way she smiled so that it lit up her whole face? The way her small frame fitted so perfectly against his much larger one? That if and when they got out of this mess, he wasn't going to waste anytime in making sure that Jennifer ended up in his bed and ended up staying there.

'Talk to me, Chewie,' Sheppard muttered, his eyelids drooping shut and then flying open again by sheer force of will.

The comms link was still open; every word would be relayed back to those listening - Carter's instructions.

'Jennifer,' the Satedan murmured in a low voice nonetheless, 'I was thinking about Jennifer,'

'Oh yeah?' this prompted Sheppard's eyes to open with definite interest as Ronon knew it would, 'you like her a lot?'

'Yeah,' was the simple reply.

'She's nice,' the colonel offered blearily, 'pretty…'

'Yeah,'

'Guess you're ready for all that again then, huh?'

Ronon raised an eyebrow at this comment, recalling where and when they'd discussed this before – just the once, just before Carson had died.

'Yeah,' he agreed.

'That's good,' Sheppard croaked, with effort.

Ronon shifted the slighter man against him, making sure the colonel stayed upright. He shook Sheppard's shoulder lightly, jogging him into full consciousness once again.

'Sheppard, stay with me,' he urged, shaking him again.

'Keep him talking, Ronon,' Jennifer Keller's quiet voice sounded in his ear, 'it's really important,'

Her gentle tones were reassuring, even in their professional capacity.

'Sheppard,' he nudged the colonel, 'so what are you thinking about?'

There was a long pause, during which the colonel seemed to drift in and out of reality, his eyes glassy.

'Sheppard,' Ronon urged him again.

'Teyla,' came the answer finally, almost as a whisper. Not a lot surprised Ronon, he'd seen too much and survived too much, but this caught the Satedan unawares.

'Teyla?'

'Yeah, always Teyla,' Sheppard rasped and forced himself with effort to sit up straighter. Ronon looked at his team leader intrigued. He'd always thought there was more behind Sheppard's unwavering loyalty to Teyla than he'd admit, but didn't expect the colonel to ever declare it quite so decisively or openly.

'Have you told her how you feel?' Sheppard didn't react to the shrewd guess behind Ronon's question, as if it was a logical thing to be asked next – which in a way, it was.

He shook his head slowly, 'no, never did…' he began, 'shoulda, too scared…'

'Scared?'

'Yeah,' the colonel smiled slightly, painfully, 'and now she's pregnant…'

Ronon frowned at this, thinking carefully what to say next, 'she'll still need you, John…'

'Maybe…' the reply was a faint whisper, 'shoulda said something though, while I had the chance.'

At this, Jennifer's hand immediately tightened on Teyla's underneath their furs. Fighting back tears threatening to overwhelm, the Athosian stared resolutely into the fire. Yet she silently squeezed the other woman's fingers in return, grateful for the understanding and support.

'Ronon?' Carter began, on confirmation from McKay, 'the shield is fully operational now, so you should notice the thaw pretty quickly, sit tight, we're coming to get you,'

'OK,' the Satedan's deep voice sounded taciturn as ever, 'Sheppard's in bad shape, Colonel, don't take too long,'

'Copy that,' Carter signaled to McKay and Teyla to begin making preparations for their journey to the upper reaches of the city, 'Doctor, keep them focused for a moment,' she instructed Jennifer regarding the two men isolated in the deep cold above them.

'How are you doing?' she asked Ronon softly, when the others had gone. He smiled into the darkness, knowing by her Jennifer's tone of voice that she had no audience now.

'Cold,' came the wry reply, 'you OK?'

'Cold,' she reciprocated.

'It'll always be like this,' Ronon stated pragmatically, staring where the wall of McKay's lab would be. He was imagining Jennifer's face reacting to this statement with confusion. He pulled the layers around Sheppard just a little tighter while waiting for her reply, checking the colonel was completely covered.

'What do you mean?' Jennifer was indeed puzzled.

'Being together will always mean this,' Ronon murmured, 'the risk of…' he grasped for the right word, 'loss.'

He somehow felt, rather than heard Jennifer's sharp intake of breath at this honest and direct explanation.

'Well, I'm willing to take that risk,' she couldn't quite smooth out the catch in her voice. In just a few words Ronon had said they were 'officially' a couple and would be for some time; her heart jumped wildly in her chest.

'Good,'

There was a pause; neither knew what to say – so much had been declared with incredible economy.

'So, my quarters are bigger,' Ronon said eventually, deciding to hold to his private vow of not wasting any time in getting exactly what he wanted.

'What?' Jennifer was thrown by yet another direct statement.

'Unless you're still worried what it will look like,' he added wryly.

'Your quarters are bigger?' she repeated, trying to keep up and processing the implications of this furiously.

'For two people to live in,' Ronon explained, his expression neutral.

'Two people…' Jennifer found herself echoing his words absently yet again, the heat rising in her cheeks despite the cold. She grinned into the semi-darkness. If anyone had seen her, they may have thought her mad smiling inanely into the firelight with no one else around.

'So?' Ronon's voice interrupted her thoughts.

'So what?'

'Yes or no?' he insisted.

Jennifer smiled again. There were no grey areas with Ronon Dex, there was no time wasted skirting round important issues – he got straight to the heart of the matter. Any worries and concerns she may have had dissolved. Who cared what people thought? This amazing, tough and attractive man wanted her. It was as simple as that. And she wanted him.

Badly.

'Yes,' she found her voice and directed it into the comms link deliberately.

'When we get back?' Ronon sought her confirmation.

'As soon as you're well enough to be released from the infirmary,' Jennifer told him firmly, 'Doctor's orders.'

'Good enough for me,' she could hear the dry humour in his voice and it warmed her further.

'And Ronon?' Jennifer added, 'in the meantime…'

'What?'

'Stay alive,' she stated firmly, blinking away a few unexpected tears pricking at the back of her eyelids.

'Gotta keep my core warm,' Ronon repeated her medical advice, 'thinking about a night with you should do it, doc,'

Jennifer stifled a half-sob half-laugh at this mischievous affectionate side to the Satedan; a side no one saw often, no one much but her she suspected.

'Jennifer?' his voice was serious now and even lower in timbre, 'Sheppard's bad, how long 'til you can get here?'

'Not long, really, don't move him and keep him close,' she recognised the trepidation in Ronon's voice and did her best to sound reassuring, 'Colonel Carter should give us the go ahead any minute…Lorne's team are clearing the ice outside here right now…I'll see you there, stay alive.'

'OK,' Ronon bear-hugged Sheppard, trying to will some life and feeling back into his team leader. Sheppard's pallor was distinctly grey and Ronon couldn't detect any signs of breathing. He'd seen enough death to almost smell its imminent arrival…and this didn't smell good.


	7. Chapter 7

Jennifer skidded to a halt in front McKay's laboratory. Lorne and his team were still clearing the last of the ice away from the door. Only then did she realise that her lungs were heaving from trying to process the freezing air and her back ached from running with a full medical kit on.

The moment the door inched open with the marines' encouragement, Atlantis' CMO was through the gap and on her knees by Ronon and Sheppard.

Just briefly she touched Ronon's face with the palm of her hand and leaned her forehead against his. A flash of warmth passed between them despite Ronon's deep exhaustion. The Satedan nodded slightly and tried to shift Sheppard forward so she could get to the colonel more easily. There would be time later for reunions of the kind that had kept him thinking, dreaming and most importantly conscious during these last frozen, excruciating hours.

As if from a distance, Ronon watched Jennifer's intense concentration as she efficiently checked Sheppard's vital signs. He knew she was racing against time; he could tell from the speed and focused dexterity with which she assembled an intravenous drip, found the right spot and got the colonel rapidly hooked up to it.

Jennifer waved over the emergency medical team, never taking her eyes from Sheppard. Atlantis' military leader barely had a pulse and it was far from regular.

'Do this slowly, very carefully,' she instructed the nurses perfunctorily, observing like a hawk as they lifted Sheppard.

'Will he be OK?' Ronon finally found his voice and croaked the words out. He watched the medical team wheel Sheppard's stretcher away.

He became aware of Jennifer's slim hands searching for his pulse and feeling his forehead. Her hands were soothing and reassuring, yet she didn't answer his question about Sheppard.

''m, OK,' he slurred to her, trying to raise himself from the floor. The effort required for this was unexpected and he fell back a couple of times before succeeding.

'Easy,' Jennifer told him, slipping an arm round the Satedan's waist and her shoulder under his.

'Don' think you can hold me up, Jen,' Ronon mumbled, shaking his head to clear his vision.

'You're right, I can't,' she told him firmly, 'you need to walk, Ronon, no more infirmary trolleys here yet, you can walk, c'mon,'

He recognised a challenge when he heard one and straightened himself, dimly aware of Rodney McKay wordlessly positioning himself on his other side.

'Sheppard?' he croaked out again, wishing his throat wasn't so painfully hoarse.

'I don't know,' Jennifer murmured from under his other arm, 'I don't know,'

It was all she could say and at that time it was the truth. The colonel's life hung in balance and she knew it. Ronon wasn't in good shape either and she has taken a calculated risk in getting him to his feet. She knew it would be quicker than waiting for another medical team to pick their way through the melting snow and ice with a trolley. She also knew that Ronon _literally_ had a big heart, as well as her more recent discovery that this was the case in his personal nature as well. The Satedan's larger heart chamber, healthy blood pressure and immensely strong physique should be enough to get him to the infirmary. Essentially Ronon was incredibly tough, she reminded herself brusquely as the big man focused on walking. Not for the first time, Jennifer wondered about the sheer physical stamina and mental determination he would have needed to evade the Wraith for all those years…on his own. Maybe one day, when there was time, Ronon would tell her about those days. She'd heard about his life on Sateda during their time holed up in the recesses by the hyper-drive engines and about his family and friends, but little about his time as a Runner.

First though, her work had to be about attending to Colonel Sheppard. Yet it was with some reluctance nonetheless that she let Ronon be led away by another nursing team on reaching the infirmary. He waved her away with a slight smile, knowing where her priorities had to lie for the time being.

She chose to ignore the chaos and mess caused by melting snow (there had been a breach to the city's outer shell just outside the infirmary) and strode towards the bed where the colonel was stationed. Teyla was already there; the normally vibrant Athosian somehow diminished by all the medical equipment and bustling nurses surrounding Sheppard's bed. Jennifer watched Teyla's motionless posture as she stared down at the colonel, hand wrapped tightly around his, her face serious.

Jennifer glanced at the cardiac monitor. She noted with concern that Sheppard's pulse was still weak, and still irregular.

'How is he?' Teyla whispered, not taking her eyes from her team leader's face.

'Well…' Jennifer began, deciding to explain what procedures the colonel was undergoing as the best way of answering this, 'he's got an IV to combat the dehydration that goes with hypothermia, we're going to try defibrillation shortly, so hopefully that and some warm air through a breathing tube should stabilise him, then it's a matter of waiting while his body temperature warms up,'

Teyla moved aside as the defibrillator trolley and accompanying staff arrived.

'Will he live?' the tortured look in her friend's eyes was almost too much for Jennifer to bear.

'Teyla, I…' she began, reaching out a hand.

'I've lost Kanaan…' Teyla added brokenly, looking away, 'I can't lose John as well…'

Jennifer slipped an arm round the other woman's shoulders.

'We're doing everything possible, Teyla, everything, I promise…' she murmured softly. She nodded to Rodney who had quietly joined them.

'I know…' Teyla sighed and blinked back tears, 'I wish…' she stopped, uncertain of what she was going to say, 'I just wish…' she gave up and shrugged instead at Jennifer.

'I understand,' Jennifer replied gently, remembering what they had overheard Sheppard confess to Ronon over the radio. She squeezed Teyla's arm supportively, before turning her attentions to the defibrillation process that her staff were beginning.

It took some time and repeated attempts, but eventually Sheppard's heart rate smoothed out and began to beat a slow, but steady pulse. Jennifer positioned the breathing tube carefully in his mouth, checked that the air temperature was correct and stood back from the colonel's bed.

She breathed out slowly, willing her body to relax.

'Thank you,' she then remembered to say to her attending nurses. They nodded. All three looked tired, she realised, wondering when any of them had last slept properly. Glancing up, she noticed Teyla and Rodney staring in through the observation windows. She smiled weakly at them, beckoning them to enter.

'Is the temperature in here OK now?' McKay muttered to her in a low voice, his eyes on Sheppard, 'it's taken a while to get everything back on line normally, the city took a real battering,'

'It's fine, Rodney, thanks,' she patted his arm in gratitude, 'I need to see how Ronon is…' she added quietly, as if asking permission to leave their team leader's side. Teyla nodded.

'We'll let you know if anything happens,' she assured Jennifer. A reassurance that wasn't necessary as Jennifer knew; her nurses would alert her the moment Sheppard's condition changed, but it was the kind sentiment that counted.

'OK,' and she slipped out noiselessly, leaving Teyla and McKay to their vigil.

'Ronon?' she murmured, approaching the Satedan's bed quietly. He was still, sleeping or dozing maybe? She smiled down at the sight of him in an infirmary gown, thinking that only a weakened Ronon would have allowed that to happen.

'Hey,' he opened one eye slightly.

'How are you?' she said, her voice barely hiding the glut of emotion in her throat. He reached out and took her hand.

'Still alive, thanks to you,' Ronon stated, his face tired but relaxed now. His larger hand felt reassuringly warm as he laced his fingers through her smaller paler ones. They stared at each other for a long moment.

'That risk thing…' she referred to their conversation over the radio. It was only hours ago, but it felt like a lifetime had passed since then, 'it's not easy…' she added, the tears catching in her voice.

Jennifer didn't know what else to say…or _how_ to say that if she'd lost him her world would have fallen apart, that she'd never feel the same for anyone else, that she might even have considered going home back to Earth and turned her back on the Atlantis mission for good so great would her heartbreak have been.

'Never said it would be,' Ronon smiled at her with understanding, 'how's Sheppard?'

'Stabilised,' Jennifer was pleased to be able to say that much at least, 'just have to wait and see now, Teyla and Rodney are with him,'

Ronon nodded in approval.

'So when did you last sleep?' he observed the shadows under Jennifer's eyes and the subtle vestiges of tension in her shoulders.

She smiled ruefully, 'probably with you back there, in the recess,' came her soft reply.

'So get up here then,' the Satedan shifted over in the infirmary bunk and opened the covers. It wasn't a request and she knew it, but somehow she didn't mind.

And this time Jennifer didn't hesitate. There was just about enough room for her as she climbed on the bunk and snuggled into Ronon's side. She sighed with something akin to relief as he snaked an arm possessively round her shoulders and pulled her closer, then smiled as she felt a kiss land softly on her forehead and the covers get pulled up over them both.

Closing her eyes, Jennifer could hear Ronon's heart beat in one ear; still steady, still strong as before. She curled her fingers into the infirmary cotton covering his chest and breathed in the smell of him – he was real, he was still hers and he was indeed still alive.

'Do you have much stuff?' Ronon's murmured in her ear, his voice deep enough that she felt its rumble through his chest.

'What?' she replied sleepily, looking up at him genuinely puzzled.

'For when you move into my quarters,' came the explanation, 'have you got much stuff to bring?'

Ronon chuckled as Jennifer blushed; he was getting used to this reaction and was secretly pleased he got under her skin in this way.

'You just don't give up, do you?' she whispered in response, jabbing him gently in the ribs.

'Not over this, no,' he grinned at her. Jennifer smiled into his chest as he nuzzled her hair affectionately.

'No, I don't have much stuff, Ronon,' she stated as it this was for the record, 'and yes, I'm moving into your quarters…' there was a pause, before she added firmly, 'but as I've already said, _when_ you _and_ Sheppard are fully recovered,'

'Yes, Doctor Keller,' came the amused reply.

Jennifer looked up at Ronon again. He had his eyes closed, but there was a half smile lurking around his lips that didn't escape her notice.

'So Sheppard should be OK then?' Ronon asked more serious now, the implications of her words sinking in.

'He has a good chance,' she confirmed quietly, '_you_ gave him a good chance, Ronon, without you he would have most certainly died.'

The Satedan was silent for a long moment after that. His only reaction was to momentarily squeeze her tighter against his side and gently stroke her face.

_And I love you for that, amongst so many other things, _Jennifer thought as she drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep. For the first time in a while she felt truly warm.

**A/N: **Thanks again to **renisanz** for the brilliant beta thoughts, reactions and insights.

I think there's one more chapter to come now for this fic…and then I will try and get on with Quarantine…sorry for the delay. Thanks for all your reviews and encouragement though – they mean a lot.


	8. Chapter 8

It was late and Jennifer couldn't sleep. This was despite the fact that she was back in her own quarters, her warm comfortable quarters in fact. It had taken some time to clear up the mess from the huge defrost caused by reactivating the city's shield, but things resembled some kind of normality now.

She still felt restless.

She kept thinking about Ronon.

Her bed felt large and strange without him. She wondered if he was thinking about her. They had bid a vague temporary farewell when she'd discharged him from the infirmary earlier that day. It hadn't been satisfactory, but the whole city bustled with tidying up, reclaiming areas and there had been so many patients to treat, their records to up date and such like.

The bald fact was that she wanted to be with him, she wanted to be held by him, she wanted to be loved by him and she wanted that right now. No point in trying to pretend otherwise.

Oh, get a grip Jennifer, she remonstrated with herself firmly and swung out of bed decisively. Before her nerve left her, she threw a sweatshirt and pants on, put some other fresh clothes and toiletries in a small bag and set off for the Satedan's quarters.

I wasn't imagining it, I wasn't imagining everything that happened, she chanted to herself in time with her footsteps, it was real, it was real, I know it was real.

Leaning her forehead against the door to Ronon's quarters, Jennifer nearly bolted and ran. She knew this moment was a turning point and marveled at her own courage. Activating the door chime, she waited…and waited…and pressed it again. Still no reply – she was sure she'd seen him disappear in this direction. Sighing at what she perceived as her own foolishness, Jennifer slowly turned back the way she'd come trying to control her disappointment.

'Hey,' Ronon's deep voice sounded from behind her.

Swinging round in surprise, Jennifer immediately blushed. Ronon stood in the doorway, wearing just a towel slung loosely round his hips. She found it truly difficult not to let her eyes roam appreciatively over his bare muscled chest and arms.

'Was in the shower,' he explained, leaning against the doorjamb, 'didn't hear,'

'Uh…if you're busy…' she began, biting her lower lip nervously.

'Are you moving in right now?' he teased her lightly, regarding with a smile the bag she was futilely trying to hide.

'Uh…I…' Jennifer stuttered, wondering if she could actually get any redder in the face but then she sighed and finally gave up any pretence of dignity and composure, 'actually, yes, I guess I am.'

'You sure this is what you want?' he had to ask her all the same, one hand reaching out and gently taking hers.

Jennifer shivered slightly at his touch; the intense look in the Satedan's eyes boring straight into her soul.

He added quietly, 'like I said, it carries risks…being with me,'

'I'm sure,' she whispered and stepped closer, willing him to put his arms around her and sinking into Ronon's chest with relief when he did so.

'So how long are you staying?' Ronon murmured absently into her hair, stroking it with one hand, the other cradling her against him. He liked this side of Jennifer Keller very much. Underneath all the shyness and the awkwardness was a woman who knew her own mind and kept to that in the end.

'For as long as you'll have me,' Jennifer found herself replying, once again amazed at her bravado. She didn't know where this was coming from at all – perhaps she'd never been in a situation where she'd had to hold her nerve quite so much to get what she wanted but she knew she spoke from her heart.

'That's gonna be a long while then,' and with that Ronon pulled her into his quarters in one definite and swift movement. The door hissed shut behind them as Jennifer was once again enveloped happily into the warmth of his embrace.

**Epilogue: a week or so later**

'Have you seen Dr Keller?' Sheppard asked McKay and Teyla, as he joined them for breakfast. This was his first day out after a whole week of what he considered incarceration in the infirmary and the colonel was looking forward to some different food and conversation.

'Oh, she'll be along,' Rodney said, exchanging a swift look with Teyla before concentrating studiously on his cereal bowl.

'Perhaps I'll just swing by her quarters, I need to return these DVDs,' the Colonel mused, the surreptitious look between his teammates not eluding him.

'Ah…' Rodney began.

'I don't think she'll be in her quarters,' Teyla interrupted, 'perhaps the gym?' she added, with an overly bright smile.

'What?' John Sheppard demanded, 'what's going on? Where is Keller?'

Teyla and Rodney looked at each other.

'You won't find her in her quarters,' Rodney stated, repeating the information, his discomfort plainly evident at this disclosure.

'OK, this I now know,' Sheppard muttered, 'would either of you like to tell me why?'

'Well…' Mckay began.

'Rodney!' hissed Teyla, shooting the scientist a warning look.

'What?!' the colonel was truly irritated now.

'She doesn't live there anymore,' McKay revealed, avoiding Teyla's look of exasperation and shrugging.

'What? So where does she live then? Has she gone back to Earth or something? I haven't had a chance to…' Sheppard asked, suddenly worried, '….am I missing something here? I feel like I'm missing something really important?'

'She lives in Ronon's quarters now,' Teyla eventually stated, sighing slightly.

'Well, so where's he living then?' John asked next, confused. When they didn't answer and stared at him knowingly, he finally got a hold of what was going on.

'Well, how long has that been going on?' he said after a long moment, 'and why am I the last to know?'

'Actually you were the first to know, if you think back, John,' Teyla smiled at her team leader wryly, 'and Jennifer only moved her belongings over to Ronon's quarters a few days ago,'

'I thought he hadn't been around the infirmary as much,' Sheppard murmured thoughtfully, remembering at last the conversation he'd had with the Satedan as they lay freezing in McKay's lab during the storm, 'so he really did it, no messing around…,' the colonel added almost to himself.

'Why all this secrecy?' he then demanded, replaying their conversation over.

'I think Ronon would have liked to tell you himself,' Teyla said carefully as Rodney nodded in agreement.

'Ok…' Sheppard was thinking hard at this. He rose from his chair decisively.

'Back…back in a while,' he told them both and hurried off.

'You in there, doc?'

'Uh, yes, Colonel, come in,' Jennifer found herself saying and clicked off the comms link. Taking a deep breath, she activated the door sensor and tried to compose herself for this unexpected visitor.

John Sheppard stepped into Ronon's quarters, feeling a little unsure of what he'd find. It was an interesting mix of their hugely different belongings, which were strewn in a fairly haphazard manner across the living space. The contrast of various Satedan knives alongside what looked like several pairs of Jennifer's lace panties wasn't quite what he'd been expecting, yet this did suggest two people who were comfortable and happy living in each other's space and whose lives were functioning together in a busy, but positive way.

He couldn't help but notice Ronon's large bed with its blankets and pillows in obvious disarray, and a distinctly feminine nightie lying abandoned close by on the floor.

'Can I get you some coffee, Colonel?' Doctor Keller regarded him nervously – the direction of his observation has not escaped her. She moved various bits of other assorted weaponry and clothing from a chair and indicated he should sit down.

'Thanks,' Sheppard replied.

'Ronon's in the shower,' she offered quietly, instinctively closing her bathrobe as much as was humanly possible.

'Actually, I came to see you,' the colonel smiled sincerely at Atlantis' CMO.

'Oh?' Jennifer was more than a little surprised. Her shoulders relaxed a little.

'Yeah, I wanted to return these…,' he passed over the DVDs she'd loaned him, 'thanks for these, doc, they chased away a few hours.'

'Oh,' she said again and took them, 'you're welcome, Colonel,' Jennifer paused, wondering why Atlantis' military leader should want to do this in their out-of-hours time and why here, in Ronon's…_their_ quarters.

'Jen?' she turned as Ronon wandered through buckling his pants on at the same time. A leather shirt hung casually over one of his shoulders - for a moment John was struck by the amount of scars there were on his team -mate's muscular torso. What other scars did this embattled soldier have, he wondered, the kinds you can't see but go deeper still?

He coughed slightly as Ronon gathered Jennifer Keller under one arm and kissed her affectionately. Sheppard saw in an instant how Ronon looked at her like she was his whole world, thinking this was the best kind of healing a man could have for _those_ kinds of scars.

'Sheppard!' the Satedan grinned at the other man on finally noticing his presence, 'she let you out then?' he glanced fondly at Jennifer, who was still tucked comfortably under his arm.

She really fits there, Sheppard thought, in more ways than one. He cleared his throat.

'She did,' he grinned at Jennifer, who had visibly relaxed with Ronon's arrival, 'Uh, I should be going…' he added, rising from the chair, 'I just came to return those,' he indicated the DVDs, 'I'll see you in the mess hall for dinner?'

They both nodded, watching him. The colonel was struck with how similar their expressions were: expectant, strong and patient somehow. These two were made for each other, he could see it clearly now.

Sheppard made for the door, then paused and slowly turned back.

'Actually,' he cleared his throat again; he never found this kind of thing easy and often avoided it, but this time in Sheppard's mind it was necessary, 'I wanted to thank you, both of you…' he raised his hand to stop Ronon from interrupting, 'without what…without what both of you did for me back there I wouldn't be here now…I know that,' John Sheppard breathed out – it had been said.

'John…' Ronon managed to interject.

'No, hear me out, Ronon,' Sheppard gathered his thoughts once again, 'and I wanted to wish you… you two happiness…happiness together…you deserve it.'

And with that, he was gone, leaving Ronon and Jennifer staring after his exit for a long transfixed moment.

'Wow,' Jennifer murmured, 'now that makes me feel really warm inside!'

'Yeah, no kidding,' Ronon encircled her with both arms now, 'although I can think of other ways to show you how to turn up the heat…'

Jennifer smiled at him and tilted up her face, ready for one of Ronon's sensual kisses that made her knees literally go weak.

As his mouth claimed hers, she found herself realising that she was indeed warmed deep down in her body and soul…and that this time she hadn't blushed at her lover's softly teasing comment.

Not for a moment.

**The End**

**A/N: **So I hope you all found this a fitting ending and enjoyed it. Your reviews are hugely appreciated as you know – thanks, and thanks for following my latest one-shot-that-turned-into-a-much-longer fic again! (it's getting to be a habit!) Big thanks to **renisanz **for her wonderful beta wisdom – really a crucial part in this fic's evolution.

As some already know there will soon be an M rated version of this chapter on my lj because I just couldn't decide which one to post, so am posting both. Like writing the smut now and then, but worry it always reads the same – don't consider it one of my stronger writing talents – so reviews appreciated there too! journeyman07 x


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